Indictment details fake kidnap extortions

San Diego  Four people indicted by a federal grand jury are accused of conspiring to extort Latino families throughout the country by falsely claiming a loved one had been kidnapped and asking for ransom.

The defendants appeared Friday in federal court in San Diego, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

They are all charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.

Pulido was arrested in Los Angeles. The other defendants were arrested in San Diego.

Victims of the extortion were usually told to wire between $1,500 and $4,000 to locations in San Diego or Los Angeles.

In one case, an undercover agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations pretended to be the son of a kidnap victim. He wired money to Adrian Rocha in San Diego, the indictment said.